That nostalgic wave...

A wave of nostalgia hit me, after my friend KA sent me this:

Indeed, anyone who grew up in the era of cassette tapes will know that the pencil was indispensible to get the spools moving again whenever the ferric-oxide coated tape material became "sticky", for various reasons.

I also became an adept "tape doctor" -- reattaching split tape ends with special splicing/joining tape. Oh, how many times had I to gingerly perform open heart surgery on a very sick cassette tape at death's door:

Wikipedia

I recently discovered a thematic boutique cafe in Telok Blangah Rise that displays a collection of yesteryear's stuff!...

https://www.facebook.com/habitssg

I remember buses like this one, operated by the defunct Singapore Traction Company (which -- ahead of its time! -- also operated non-polluting electric trolley buses):

ST

How I wished I had kept the bus tickets from those days. These ones below were found online:

https://timesofmylife.wordpress.com/2007/04/09/ticket-to-the-past-part-1/

I am not a smoker but some family member might have been...

I remember those "chocolate coins" of my childhood. They were quite big, unlike the tiny ones I recently found in a souvenir pack:

Thankfully, haw flakes are still the same (well, almost)...

Wartime Japanese "banana notes"?...

ST

I was sure there were some -- somewhere in some drawer. Pay dirt!...

Finally, this Singapore Memory Project pic got it right; I did use the ubiquitous Jacobs cream cracker tins for keeping mementoes, black and white photos and pen pal letters...